Disowned, stripped of her title and banished to a small cabin at the edge of Elverstone, Siya has been living a lonely life for the past eighteen years. Her only companions are her illegitimate daughter and the injured animals she brings home for her to treat. When an unassuming ghlipon steps into a bear trap and scrambles deeper into the forest Siya takes it upon herself to track her and wrap her most likely broken leg. Even wounded a ghlipon could run miles and this one leads her deeper into Ferranti forest where peril creeps around every corner. The Death Court is more dangerous than any other predator in the entire realm. Six of their fiercest warriors, one of them being their king, find Siya cowering against a tree. Fifty years ago, the Death Court’s feeding grounds were restricted by the high council of Belfean Fairy Courts. Starving and desperate, King Grath takes his warriors to hunt a rare bird for a ritual that is supposed to restore his court’s standing in the realm. He never expected to run into a nature fairy royalty this deep in Ferranti. Her life force could be the salvation to his entire court. Grath gets wrapped up in the allure of Siya’s delicate potential, his original mission becoming secondary, then completely discarded. Now, how do you tell a woman that her life force is meant to feed the Death Court? You simply don’t. His touch could kill her. Her life could save him. The balance of the entire realm lies in their hands.
